FORT MYERS, Fla. — Although official death numbers have not been released as of early Thursday afternoon, it appears Hurricane Ian caused a number of fatalities in Florida.
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During a briefing with the Federal Emergency Management Agency on Thursday, President Joe Biden said, "This could be the deadliest hurricane in Florida's history.”
“The numbers are still unclear, but we're hearing early reports of what may be substantial loss of life," Biden added.
The last hurricane of this magnitude to strike Florida was Category 5 Hurricane Michael in 2018. Hurricane Michael caused 16 deaths, according to the National Hurricane Center.
Earlier in the day, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis confirmed there have been two deaths, although he cautioned that it was unclear if the deaths were directly caused by the hurricane.
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Lee County Sheriff Carmine Marceno originally told ABC's "Good Morning America" that he confirmed "fatalities are in the hundreds" after Hurricane Ian struck, but the outlet later said he could not confirm any casualties.
Marceno said that officials in hard-hit Lee County have been conducting thousands of rescues from those caught in the storm.
Biden declared nine Florida counties major federal disaster areas. DeSantis said he spoke with Biden and expects additional counties will be added. Biden said he intended to visit Florida in the near future.
Biden also told reporters he intends to visit Puerto Rico following the landfall of Hurricane Fiona two weeks ago. Nearly one-in-five power customers in Puerto Rico remained without power, as of Thursday afternoon, officials said.
Hurricane Ian made landfall Wednesday afternoon as a Category 4 storm with top winds of 140 mph.
